MALSCE Government Affairs Update - June 2021

MALSCE Government Affairs Update - June 2021

by Abbie Goodman, MALSCE Chief of External Affairs

See MALSCE Covid-19 Resource Page for current news on Covid-19 Issues.

Engineers and Land Surveyors Virtually at the State House

More:  https://www.engineers.org/about/news/engineers-and-land-surveyors-virtually-at-the-state-house-register-3655

• Small group appointments, based on where people live and vote, will be encouraged for June and July. We are grouping people by their districts and give them tools to set up virtual appointments

Issue Briefing Sheets:

• Dig Safe
• Water Infrastructure
• Transportation Infrastructure
• Maximizing Private Sector Innovation
• Wipes Regulations can Save Ratepayers $, Keep Waters Clean

 For Mid-June:

ACTION URGED:  Urge Legislature to Adopt the House’s FY’22 Funding Recommendation for the Contract Assistance Line-Item (1599-0093):  Briefing Materials

Engineers and Land Surveyors Virtually @ the State House: Briefing Session PPT

Ongoing: PPP loans and FAR Credits issue:

Information provided as a courtesy to MALSCE: This issue impacts MALSCE members with PPP loans that do work for MassDOT and certain other state agencies if the members are seeking loan forgiveness for their PPP loans.  ACEC has been advocating for  a simple fix to clarify that the FAR credits clause will not apply to PPP loans: Principal amounts of qualifying loans forgiven pursuant to the provisions of Section 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Pub. L. 116-136) shall not be considered income, a rebate, allowance, or other credit received by or accruing to a contractor under 48 CFR 31.201-5.

Update on the Issue as of 6/10/21 From ACEC: ACEC national has launched a campaign website at www.acec.org/ppp as part of the advocacy effort in Congress.  When you check it out, use the email template to reach out to your Member of Congress, or the Twitter template to tweet out a message of support with the hashtag #PPPFairness. Use the template for a letter to the editor to tell your local paper what this issue means for your business.. More  posted on: https://www.acecma.org/about/news/acec-updates-on-ppp-loans-far-credits-clause-issue-3363

In addition, ACEC/MA is discussing the issues with MassDOT Audit staff leadership.

Division of Professional Licensure /  Board of Registration of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors

The next Board of Registration  meeting will be on June 24, 2021 probably on Teams, pending extension laws allowing virtual public meetings like this. To connect to the meeting, go to this page  and scroll down to the meeting listing  to download the agenda with connection instructions.

Request to Board of Registration:  I’ve asked the Board’s Executive Director to add this issue to the June 24 agenda, based on a request I received from a PLS:

“I was wondering if you knew if the BOR is taking action against what seems like nonstop use of drones to advertise land surveying services. That and the rubber stamping I see going on is becoming worse. Here is an example I ran across when looking to help someone find a land surveyor.”

 Drone Surveying - Reliable Results, Professional Operators - FAA Certified (alpinax.com)

 The direct link is:  http://alpinax.com/survey/

• March 25, 2021 Board of Registration Minutes;  April 22, 2021 Board Meeting Minutes will be posted here.

May 27, 2021  these are not minutes, but a summary: This Board of Registration meeting was held on Teams.

Review / Approved Minutes from March 25, 2021 Public Session

Next Meeting Date – June 24, 2021

Board continued discuss the issues related to converting the PLS/Jurisprudence section (state specific) part of the exam to computer-based testing (CBT)

Board Counsel legal report

• Board again expressed concern about Town of Seekonk fee for listing engineers qualified to do septic design; Town of Swansea is hoping to do the same
  • Board Counsel highlighted a draft letter to the  towns about this

ENG Board Executive Director Report:

• NCEES Enforcement Exchange  - discussing chart of issues in other states
• Case Status Report, Notification of Discipline

PLS Interview Report:

• Interviewed 3 candidates, accepted 2 to sit for the exam. One was a 20-year candidate with experience that was 50% land surveying and 50% engineering, so the committee did not think the candidate had enough land surveying experience.

Engineering Interview Report:

• Interviewed 5 candidates who either had 20 years’ experience or who did not have all the credentials for ABET requirements.  Three will be licensed by comity while two were approved to sit for the exam.
• In addition, there is a candidate from Sudan who is unable to provide an approved transcript. If the Board allows, NCEES will conduct an assessment to make a determination about whether the credentials supplied are sufficient in this difficult situation. This could include doing an assessment of his undergraduate education in Sudan and his graduate schoolwork in the US. Board is asking NCEES to do this assessment.

Land Surveying Exam (Jurisprudence) Results:

• 17 people took the exam. Average score was 52.9%.  Nine (9) people passed with 70% score or greater.

Review of Applications:

• Application Questions, Application Review Report, Many PE applications received for April exam, Applicants will soon be able to upload applications and work samples directly through PCS

Good Moral Character (GMC) Discussion

Several  moral character issues raised with individuals; they have not responded yet. They had issues out of state but have not provided documentation about resolutions. Otherwise, Board will make a determination

Correspondence: Board also discussed several licensure inquiries

- Public BOR meeting ended at 10 AM -

Notice of Future Changes to NCEES Exams and Supporting Materials

Excerpts of NCEES memo to Member Boards and testing services with the 1-year notice required by the NCEES Manual of Policy and Position Statements, Exam Development Policy (EDP) 9.

Spring 2022 Exam Changes

 PE Civil—The PE Civil exam will have its last paper administration in October 2021. Beginning November 1, 2021, examinees will be able to register and schedule CBT appointments, which will be available year-round starting on April 1, 2022.

Fall 2021 Exam Changes

The October administration will be a two-day event with some exams offered on Thursday, October 21 and some on Friday, October 22. More information is available here: https://ncees.org/october-2021-exam-administration-updates/. The fall pencil-and-paper exams will be administered on October 21 and 22, 2021.

Legislature

The COVID-19 state of emergency lifted on June 16 ending most of the executive orders Gov. Charlie Baker put in place to force restrictions and special allowances during the 15-month-long crisis

S 2475, https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S2475

Late on the night of June 15, the legislature passed a bill (S 2475) would allow remote meetings of public bodies until April 20, 2022, and it includes language that says if the law does not take effect until after the emergency's end, "a public body may provide for remote meetings as specified in this section and any action taken thereof shall be ratified, validated and confirmed as if this section had been in place."

The bill also:

• Temporarily reinstates remote permissions for representative town meetings, nonprofit member meetings, notary services and reverse-mortgage loan counseling, along with eviction protections, flexibilities for assisted living residences, and the ability for medical assistants, podiatrists, phlebotomists, and certain military personnel to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
• Permits to-go beer, wine, and cocktail sales by restaurants through May 1, 2022, along with language requiring that takeout and delivery drinks be sold at the same prices as those consumed on-site.
• Special permits for expanded outdoor dining would be valid until April 21, 2022
• Other matters, including Senate-backed billing protections for COVID-19 care and a House-approved cap on fees that delivery apps charge restaurants, remain before the conference committee.

H 3827, https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H3827

The governor has until June 17 to act on a bill (H 3827) on his desk that would steer $5.3 billion in federal aid into a new Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. Last week the Legislature passed the bill to move the state's lump sum of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal assistance into a "segregated fund" to be appropriated separately from the state budget process. The Governor’s office has suggested it is not on board with the Legislature's plan, maintaining that the discretionary funding does not require legislative appropriation.

FY2022 Budget

June 7, 2021: House and Senate leaders named a conference committee to negotiate a final FY2022 budget bill, tasking the six lawmakers with reaching a compromise on a more than $47.7B spending plan that includes major policy changes including those affecting a controversial film tax credit program and fees on ride-hailing companies.  (see Urge Legislature to Adopt the House’s FY’22 Funding Recommendation for the Contract Assistance Line-Item (1599-0093):  Briefing Materials)